Young Love
by Still-Fantasy
Summary: Echizen Ryoma is surprised when he starts thinking of a certain girl a LITTLE more than necessary. But since he's no expert when it comes to the other gender, Ryoma tries to tackle the challenge his OWN way... [SakunoxRyoma] Humour and romance.
1. Jealousy, thy name is Ryoma

A/N: Hi everyone! I've decided to have a stab (no, not literally) of romance solo after my co-written story with Incomparable (refer to story The Young Professors), we've decided to have a go at writing each other's genres. Please write reviews on what you think. Even criticism. I don't mind criticism. But don't blow me up if you don't like it. XD

Young Love

By Still-Fantasy

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Jealousy, thy name is Ryoma

1

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THWACK!

"Game won by Echizen!"

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma left the court, leaving a flustered opponent behind.

"Yeah! I knew you could do it Ryoma-kun!" cheered Tomoka.

"Go Ryoma-kun!" Shiba joined along. "Isn't he such a prince?"

"Hey! I told you before, only people in Ryoma-kun's fan club can call him prince!"

"Oh yeah? Well maybe I'll start a fan club of my own!"

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me!"

The Seigaku regulars stifled their laughter. Ryoma sighed. He knew he was going to have to endure their teasing next practice session. Suddenly a figure blocked his shadow. A figure with very long pigtails.

"Ano…ano…"

"What do you want Ryuuzaki?"

Sakuno blinked. Ryoma-kun had noticed her for once.

"I…just wanted to say…congratulations-for-winning-your-match." Sakino quickly bowed and ran off.

_Huh?_ Ryoma watched as Sakuno hurried away. _What did she just say? She speaks too fast. And runs too slow. And her hair still needs cutting._ Ryoma smiled to himself. He liked picking at people's faults. Normally he just did it during tennis matches but sometimes he couldn't help himself.

"AH!!!"

Ryoma started. He realised Sakuno was on the ground clutching her knee. _Klutz._ Ryoma started to walk to where she was. Before he reached her, a boy came up to Sakuno and helped her up. He then took her in the direction of the sick bay. The boy started talking to Sakuno who smiled shyly. Ryoma felt a slight annoyance. No, it wasn't annoyance and it wasn't slight. Anger? No, it was worse than anger…

_Nani! How can I be jealous?_


	2. A Self Confession

A/N: Hi! It's me again (who else?)! I just wanted to let you know that I spelt Ryuuzaki with a double 'u' because that's how they spelt it in the manga series (the one that I saw anyway). Alrighty, read on!

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A Self-confession

2

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As Ryoma walked back to his room he kept replaying the incident back in his mind. _How the heck can I feel jealous? So Ryuuzaki found a friend. Big deal. You didn't get this worked up when the hamburger guy from across the street started acting very friendly towards Tomoka._ Ryoma went through all the possibilities for the source of his jealousy. All except one. _No way,_ thought Ryoma _I can't possibly have _feelings_ for Sakuno! Wait, did I just call her Sakuno? What the hell? I've always called her Ryuuzaki. _Ryoma shook his head, sure he was going mad.

Ryoma spent most of the night tossing and turning. He tried every method to get to sleep, including counting tennis balls (like counting sheep except the tennis balls are going over a net, not a fence), but his mind kept turning to Sakuno. _Dammit Echizen. Push her out of your mind. She's NOT going to waste your precious sleeping time. You have practice tomorrow morning. Now GO TO SLEEP!_ With a sigh, Ryoma closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning he woke up feeling refreshed, his insomnia the previous night completely forgotten. After he got dressed and had breakfast, he headed off to the courts.

As he turned the corner, he heard someone shout his name.

"Ryoma-kun!" called Sakuno, running towards him.

Ryoma turned. "What is it?"

"You're going to tennis practice right?"

"Mm."

"Ano…ano…can I…can I walk with you to the courts?" stuttered Sakuno. Oh why can't I for once talk properly in front of him? She was sure she'd made a fool out of herself.

She's making a fool out of herself thought Ryoma. Still, why not?

"Fine."

Sakuno smiled and Ryoma suddenly felt strangely happy. As they walked, Ryoma attempted to make light conversation.

"You…look different today. Did you do something to your hair?"

Sakuno looked confused. Ryoma mentally kicked himself. Course she did something to her hair. She braided it, just like any other day!

"No. I didn't…"

Ryoma tried to somehow cover up his mistake.

"Were you wearing those red ribbons yesterday?"

"No."

"Well…it looks nice. I think red suits you."

Sakuno blushed.

"Arigato Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma look impassive but inside he was grinning like mad. There was no point in denying it now. He was falling for Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

A/N: Sorry if my chapters seem kind of short. If I add anything else, it becomes extremely pointless dribble. Bear with me. Please.

PS. Continue posting those reviews!


	3. Your Highness

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Your Highness

3

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Ryoma and Sakuno at last arrived at the courts.

"Ano…thank you for letting me walk with you Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma said nothing and started to warm up. He didn't trust his to voice to be completely void of the happiness he felt inside.

"Oh, of course. You need to practice now. I won't bother you anymore." Sakuno bowed and hurried away.

_Bother? Not at all._ Ryoma shook himself. _Okay, so you might have some feelings for Sakuno. Just don't let it interfere with practice._

Unfortunately for Ryoma, that was the least of his worries. He had completely forgotten about the 'prince' thing yesterday. His team mates, however, had conveniently remembered the incident.

"Hey prince! Your early for practice!" Eiji entered the court, followed by the other regular members.

"Don't call him prince! Only _I_ can call him prince."

"He's _my_ prince too!"

"Oh look! He's tying his shoelaces. Such grace, such eloquence!"

"Everybody take a picture. We must capture this moment!"

"Shut up," snapped Ryoma.

"Nya, the prince is getting touchy!"

"We must try to cheer him up!"

"Fufufu. According to my data, princes like being pampered."

"Can I brush your hair Your Highness?"

"Can I worship your racket Your Highness?"

"_I_ want to worship his racket!"

"Me first!"

"Stop it!" Ryoma clenched his fists. _Man, these guys are so annoying._ Sadly, it didn't seem like the Seigaku regulars would stop soon. They were on a roll.

"Can I feel your jacket Your Highness?"

"Can I kiss your hand Your Highness?"

"Can I kiss your _shoes_ Your Highness?"

"Go ahead Momoshiro," Ryoma held out his foot for Momoshrio to kiss.

"Echizen, what are you doing? You should be warming up, not mucking around." Tezuka's voice sounded behind Ryoma.

"Nani, that's not fair! They…"

"I don't want to hear any excuses Echizen. 20 laps. Now."

Ryoma cursed silently.

Lap one…

Lap two…

Lap thre…

20 laps seemed a long way to go.


	4. War of the Egos

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War of the Egos

4

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After the arduous tennis practice (made worse by the occasional teasing when Tezuka wasn't listening), Ryoma headed for the vending machines to buy a Ponta. Momoshiro spotted him and walked over.

"Hey! Echizen! I hope you didn't take us too seriously. It's just that we haven't had so much fun since Kaidoh sat on an ant nest."

Ryoma almost choked on his Ponta.

"Kaidoh did what?!"

Momoshiro grinned. "We wouldn't let it go for an entire week. Still, better to sit on an ant then what happened to that Sakuno right?"

Ryoma's glanced up.

"What happened to Ryuuzaki?"

"Didn't you see? Oh, that's right. You were doing your laps. Well, while you were dragging your legs around the court 20 times, the rest of us saw her being carried out on a stretcher. Apparently she fell down the stairs and twisted her ankle."

_Must have tripped on her hair _thought Ryoma. He smiled, he could just picture that in his head. But Ryoma was also worried about Sakuno. He couldn't shake the feeling off. He decided he should do something about it.

Ryoma entered the florist and looked around. There were hundreds of flowers, toys and balloons everywhere. _Now, which ones will suit Sakuno?_ He went up to the counter where the shopkeeper was already serving a boy around Ryoma's age.

"I wish to buy a bunch of these assorted flowers for friend. Her name's Ryuuzaki Sakuno. She's currently at the hospital across the road, I'm not sure which ward though. Can you please deliver it to her?"

"Certainly sir."

Ryoma's head turned towards the boy. _It's the same boy from yesterday!_ The boy caught him staring.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

Ryoma blinked. He didn't think his staring was _that_ noticeable.

"I'm a friend of Ryuuzaki."

"Oh. I see. Pleased to meet you. I'm Atori."

"Echizen Ryoma." _Dammit, this guy is so polite. No wonder Sakuno was smiling at him yesterday._

"Are you being served sir?"

Ryoma glanced up.

"I would like to buy _two_ bunches of assorted flowers for Sakuno. The same one Atori mentioned earlier. Please deliver those to her too."

"Certainly sir. Do you want me to say who it's from like this gentlemen here or do you wish to remain anonymous."

"Tell her it's from Echizen Ryoma."

"Certainly sir."

Atori glared at Ryoma.

"Madam, on second thoughts I'll like to buy another bunch for Sakuno _plus_ a balloon."

"Certianly sir."

Ryoma glared back at Atori. _This means war._

"Oh, I almost forgot the balloons. Send her two of them. And a teddy bear too." Ryoma smirked at Atori.

"Add a teddy bear, five balloons _and_ a box of chocolates." Atori smirked back.

"Add _two_ boxes of chocolates another bunch of flowers and _nine_ balloons."

"Add the biggest bunch of flowers, _three_ more boxes of chocolate and _ten_ balloons."

"Add the biggest teddy bear you've got!"

"Add the biggest box of chocolates you've got!"

"Add _ten_ more bunches of flowers!"

"Oh yeah? Add _eleven_!"

The shopkeeper _rushed_ back and forth between the two. She tried as hard as she could to write down both their orders. _These two are mad!_ she thought. _Still, I've never gotten such big orders before._

"Add _twenty_ more bunches of flowers and _ten _more boxes of chocolate!" Ryoma shouted triumphantly. Atori, furious, marched out of the store.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma called after him.

"Okay, so you ordered thirty-three bunches of assorted flowers, eleven balloons, one normal-sized teddy bear, one extra large teddy bear and twelve boxes of chocolate. That's 643 dollars. Anything else sir?"

Ryoma stared at the shopkeeper, dumbfounded.

"Is it okay if I just get a card?"

A/N: Sorry about the price of the stuff not being in yen. I didn't know how to convert it from Australian dollars. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And don't forget to review review review!!!


	5. Mysterious Ways

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Mysterious Ways

5

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Sakuno sighed. _Why can't I have just _one_ day where I don't do something completely foolish? Like tripping over my own feet._ Sakuno glumly looked at her foot. It looked perfectly normal besides the twelve layers of bandages wrapped around her ankle. _Oh well. At least I'm allowed out of the hospital today. After all, it was only a minor sprain. The nurse said I can walk properly again tomorrow._

"Sakuno? Ryuuzaki Sakuno?"

Sakuno looked up. A tall man whom she didn't recognise was at the door.

"H…hai?"

"I came here to deliver to you a card from an Echizen Ryoma."

Ryoma-kun! He actually sent me a card? Wonder what it says… Sakuno thank the man and took the letter. Once he was out of sight, she ripped open the envelope and looked at the cover. It had a picture of a teddy bear holding a Get Well sign. She opened the card. 

_To Ryuuzaki Sakuno. Get well. From Echizen Ryoma._

_Well go figure_ thought Sakuno. She put the card away. _Oh well, it's the thought that counts._

"SAKUNO!!! SAKUNO-CHAN!!!"

Sakuno jumped at the noise. _Who's making all that racket?_

Three yelps, 6 crashes, ten more shouts and two minutes later, the owner of the voice came into view.

"NANI TOMO-CHAN!!! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE SO LOUD!!!" shouted Sakuno, ignoring her own voice level.

"Gomenasai Sakuno-chan! I bumped into this delivery guy who said you got a card from Ryoma-sama. Let me read it!"

And with that, Tomoka started demolishing Sakuno's ward, searching for the 'hidden treasure.'

After much protesting from her best friend, Tomoka finally stood up, waving a floppy envelope in her hand.

"Aha! Found it! Oo! Interesting!" squealed Tomoka as she read the contents of the card. "What do you think it means?"

Sakuno blinked. _Huh? What does she mean what do I think it means._

"A wild stab in dark Tomo-chan, but I'm thinking he's probably telling me to get well."

"Maybe, maybe not Sakuno-chan. Guys work in mysterious ways."

Sakuno rolled her eyes. She sensed a conspiracy theory in the making.

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Echizen Ryoma walked aimlessly in the street with Momoshiro. He wondered what Sakuno thought of the letter. _Maybe it was a little bit short, but what else was I meant to put down? What do I do now? Buy her roses? No way, that's stupid. But how else am I meant to tell her that I- _

"Hey Echizen! What are you thinking about?" Momoshiro's voice broke through Ryoma's thoughts.

"Nothing."

Momoshiro grinned. "Come on, you can tell me. I mean, it's not like your thinking about a _girl_ or anything."

Ryoma inwardly winced. Momoshiro had no idea how accurate he was.

"Uh…I just remembered I needed to go somewhere. See you later."

"Nani! Echizen! Where are you going?!"

Ryoma just waved back as he left Momoshiro behind. After a while, he stopped in front of a bookshop. _Should I or shouldn't I? Should I go in or should I just go home? Should I…oh. To hell with it._ With that, Ryoma entered the bookshop. Looking around to make sure that there wasn't anyone he recognised, he found the section he wanted and picked a book. After paying a surprised shop owner, Ryoma hid the wrapped package under his jacket and sped off home. 

A/N: Gasp! Did I just write a cliffhanger? Unbelievable… Hehe, guess you'll have to wait for the next chappy. By the way, someone asked me if I was a girl or guy. Let's get this straight. I. Am. A. Girl. Okay, now that my gender has been cleared up, please feel free to review. XD


	6. A Close Call

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A Close Call

6

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Once Echizen Ryoma arrived home, he immediately went up to his room. Making sure no one was watching, he took the book out of the brown paper packaging and hesitantly opened it. Just then his father, Echizen Nanjiro, burst into the room, causing Ryoma to quickly shove the book under his bed.

"Echizen! It's dinnertime!"

Nanjiro then noticed the empty packaging and a nervous Ryoma sitting on the floor. He frowned.

"Echizen, are you trying to hide something from me?"

"N…no…"

Suddenly Nanjiro's face split into a big grin.

"Echizen! I never expected this!"

_Huh? _ Now it was Ryoma's turn to frown.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm proud of you son. I'm proud that you too share the same passion."

"Either tell me what the hell you're talking about or get out."

"This is going to be fun. We can swap magazines!"

Realisation suddenly dawned on a horror-struck Ryoma.

"NANI!!! I am NOT secretly reading stupid childish magazines like you!!!

"Hey! Watch what you call stupid and childish! If you're not reading those fabulous magazines, then what is it you're hiding?"

"N…nothing."

"Oh come on. You can show me."

"Don't be stupid. You're one of the last people I'll show. Now GET OUT!"

Ryoma shoved his dad out of his room and shut the door. _It's time that I got a lock._

"Oi! Echizen! You have to come downstairs for dinner."

Ryoma flung open the door.

"Fine. Let's go."

Dinner was a mini-war, if anything else. Nanjiro and Ryoma crammed food into their mouths as if they hadn't eaten in years. They both knew that whoever finished their bowl of rice first would be able to leave first, and whoever left first would get their hands on the book first. Ryoma's mum was surprised to see her husband and son take such an interest in her cooking after so many years. At last, Ryoma emerged triumphant and rushed up to his room. As he slammed the door he quickly seized the book from under the bed and stuffed it under his pillow. _Dammit. I can't read it here anymore. Dad's bound to find out._ Ryoma changed into his pyjamas and went to bed.

The next morning, Echizen Ryoma woke up before his alarm and checked under his pillow. _Good. It's still there._ He knew that he was being paranoid but he would have hell to pay if anybody else found that book. He picked up his bag and racquet and was just about to leave when his eyes darted back to the pillow where his book was hidden._ I can't leave it here. Dad's bound to find it when I'm at school. I guess I'll just have to take it with me._ He hastily shoved the book into his schoolbag and quickly headed off to Seigaku. _Dammit, I'm late._

A/N: Hehehe, still haven't told you what the book is! XD. Don't worry, I'll tell you in the next chapter. I promise (I didn't promise anything last chappy. XD). In the meantime, review. Please. For my ego's sake. Arigato!


	7. Socially Challenged

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Socially Challenged

7

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"Nya! Ochibi's finally here!"

"You're late Echizen. 15 laps around the court. Now."

"What?!" Momoshiro looked furious. "I was late but came earlier than he did. And you gave me 20!"

"Fine. Echizen, 20 laps. Momoshiro, do another 5."

Momoshiro gaped. He opened his mouth to retaliate but thought better of it. Grudgingly he walked out of the tennis court and started running. Ryoma dropped his racquet and schoolbag and followed. As the two completed their fourth lap, Kikumaru noticed Ryoma's bag was slightly unzipped. He went to close it when a particular book caught his eye. Making sure Ryoma wasn't watching, he unzipped the bag and pulled out the book. Staring at the cover, a grin spread across his face.

"Nya! Come look at this!"

"What is it? Let me see!" Momoshiro, quickly finishing off his fifth lap

re-entered the court and gathered with the rest of the regular team members to see what Kikumaru was holding. One by one, grins started to spread over their faces. Ryoma turned his head to see what all the racquet was about. His stomach lurched. _Oh shit. Oh SHIT!_ He watched in horror as the Seigaku regulars pointed and sniggered.

"The Ulitmate Teenager's Guide to Romance. The do's and don'ts for the nervous teen," read Kikumaru aloud. "I always thought ochibi was socially challenged but never _this_ badly!"

The other team members laughed. There was even a hint of a smile on Tezuka's face, though it looked more like a smirk. _Oh god_ thought Ryoma. _I've died and gone to hell. _As he finished the 20th lap, he trudged slowly back into the court. _Dammit. Now I'm going to have to face the rest of the team. Damn damn damn damn damn. They're gonna make me wish I'd never left America._

He wasn't disappointed.

"Hey Echizen! Who's this girl you're trying to get?" Momoshiro grin could have reached Mount Kosciusko.

"That's classified information for my ears only." Ryoma gritted his teeth. _God, this is so embarrassing._

"Fufufu. This is very interesting data. I wonder if your social incompetence will affect you when you play," said Inui as he scribbled furiously into his notebook.

"Nya ochibi! I didn't know you were such an amateur."

"Leave him alone Eiji." Fuji smiled. "I think we should pity Ryoma's lack of social skills."

_Yeah. Great help there Fuji. _Ryoma thought bitterly. He was extremely relieved when practice was over. Grabbing his bag and racquet, he headed towards the door. He was almost there when he was stopped by Kikumaru.

"Nya ochibi, you forgot your book." Kikumaru winked. Ryoma took the book and shoved it deep into his schoolbag where it couldn't be seen.

"By the way Eiji-senpai," said Ryoma, giving him a death glare. "If you or any of the others tell another living soul, I'll tear out your liver while you're still breathing and feed it to my cat."

Kikumaru gulped. Normally he would have blown the threat off but something in Ryoma's eyes made him feel very insecure.

"Uh…I'll go tell the others then…"

Kikumaru hurriedly walked away from Ryoma's murderous stare.

A/N: I hope you didn't mind the occasional swearing in this chapter. I tried to keep it as…uncoloured as I possibly could. Well, almost as uncoloured as I possibly could. Hope you're liking this story so far!


	8. The Trouble with Spying

A/N: For the sake of a certain reviewer, I've added a tiny description of a certain someone (it's been nagging me since Chapter 4). Read on and find out who.

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The Trouble With Spying

8

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As Ryoma walked home, he ditched the book in the nearest bin. _Stupid useless piece of rubbish. _

"Ano…Ryoma-kun? What was that thing you just threw away?"

Ryoma froze. _Oh god. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…_

"Er…It was just a random bit of trash."

"It looked like a book."

"Like I said, a random bit of trash."

"What were you doing with The Ulitmate Teenager's Guide to Romance?"

"How did you know that book was called?"

"It's facing side-up in the bin."

Ryoma mentally cursed himself for his stupidity. He tried to change the subject.

"What are you doing here Ryuuzaki?"

"Oh. I…I was just walking home."

"But you're home is _that _way," pointed Ryoma.

"That's because…um…I… was…just…um…" stuttered Sakuno. _Why _had_ she followed Ryoma?_ She tried to change the subject.

"You're going home right Ryoma-kun?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"N…nothing. I was just wondering…that's all. Sorry for bothering you." Sakuno bowed and ran off.

_Did I do something wrong?_ Ryoma sighed. At this rate, Sakuno will be avoiding him altogether.

Sakuno walked hurriedly in the direction of her house, trying to get as far away from Ryoma as she possibly could. _What's wrong with me? Why was I following Ryoma in the first place? He probably thinks I'm an idiot now. But what was with the book? Is Ryoma hiding something?_ Sakuno was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't see the pole in front of her.

As Sakuno fervently rubbed a growing bump on her head, she saw someone with spikey blonde hair run towards her.

"Sakuno! What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Atori-kun."

"I told you to just call me Atori."

"Hai Atori-kun."

Atori sighed.

"Come on Sakuno. Let's get you home. Is there an ice-pack in your fridge？"

Sakuno nodded, then winced. Nodding was a bad idea.

Atori supported Sakuno and lead her back home, unaware of a certain tennis prodigy watching them from the corner.

A/N: Sorry, I couldn't give Atori blue eyes. That would have meant he came from another country, which wouldn't fit my plot. Any other special requests? All requests will be considered. If you have no request, that's okay. You can still review. Hehehe.


	9. Echizen Ryoma's Final Straw

A/N: Hi all! Please don't flame me if you didn't like the title. I wasn't sure what to call it…

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Echizen Ryoma's Final Straw

9

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Ryoma watched as Atori took Sakuno home. He turned and started heading back home, his thoughts a jumbled mess. _That Atori, who is he? How come he's so close to Sakuno? He's only just met her! _

_Maybe he's close because he's nicer than you are._

_Shut up. I'm nice to her too._

_Yeah, if you count piranhas as nice._

_But I'm _not_ a piranha._

_Don't kid yourself, you scare her off every time you see her._

_No I don't._

_You know you're lying._

_No I'm not._

_Yes you are._

_Am not._

_Am too._

_Am not!_

_Am too!_

_AM NOT!_

_AM TOO!_

Ryoma shook his head as he entered the house. _Madness. Pure madness._ After dinner Ryoma trudged up to his room and collapsed on the bed, still wondering who exactly Atori was. Little did he know that he would find out the next day.

The next morning Ryoma woke up to the sound of his alarm. Hitting the snooze button he rolled over in his bed, still depressed about yesterday's incident. He didn't feeling like going to practice. Sadly for him, his dad didn't really give him a choice.

"Nani, what's wrong with you today. Get up, you'll be late for practice."

"Tell them I'm sick today."

"I won't. Now get up."

"No."

"Fine, then you can help me sort out my magazines today."

"I'm getting up."

With a sigh he got dressed and trudged downstairs. He slowly picked at his breakfast (congee), spooning some out and letting it dribble back into the bowl.

"Magazines," said his dad.

"I'm eating, I'm eating."

Ryoma forced spoonful after spoonful into his mouth until the bowl was empty, despite his loss of appetite that morning. Without a word of goodbye he set off for school.

"I don't see what's so bad about sorting out my magazines," muttered Nanjiro under his breath as Ryoma walked out the door.

Ryoma arrived at school just in time for practice. To his surprise (and dismay) he saw Atori leaning against the fencing outside the court. Seeing Sakuno talking animatedly to Atori didn't comfort him much either. The second Atori spotted Ryoma, a scowl formed on his face. Ryoma kindly returned the greeting.

"Ano…is something wrong?" asked Sakuno, sensing the tension between the two.

"No, everything's fine," muttered Ryoma. He didn't want Sakuno to get involved. "What're _you_ doing here?" he asked Atori.

"I came here to accompany Sakuno watch someone play tennis. I didn't expect it to be _you_." Atori answered.

Behind his indignation at the insult, Ryoma was privately happy Sakuno had come to watch him. Before he could retaliate Kikumaru's voice sounded behind him.

"Nya ochibi, you better get in the court now before Tezuka makes you run laps."

"Echizen. 10 laps."

"Nya, too late ochibi."

Ryoma wasn't fond of laps to start with but having to do them in front of Atori was too much to bear. Ryoma had to use all his self-control to prevent himself from punching Atori and wiping off that smirk growing on Atori's face. _Of all times, why do I have to be punished with laps in front of _himGritting his teeth, he started to run. On his seventh lap he heard Atori mutter something behind him.

"Are you sure he's a tennis prodigy Sakuno? He seems kind of slow to me," taunted Atori.

At that moment, something in Ryoma snapped. Without knowing what he was doing, he stopped running and walked slowly back in the direction of Atori.

A/N: Oo… Suspense… I'm not the best drama writer so excuse me if the next chapter doesn't have you 'clinging onto the edge of your seat.' Especially if you're not actually sitting on a chair. XD I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and those that read this story. With school starting again I've been burrowing my nose in books rather than the computer (though I don't really know how you would burrow your nose _in_ a computer). The English teacher gave us five assignments on the first day! Half the class faked a heart attack. I'm not kidding. But for some strange reason the teacher got annoyed instead of worried… Oh dear, I seem to be babbling. I really must find a friend to talk to. Or a therapist. Anyway, I promise it won't happen again. Hopefully. See you in the next chappy!


	10. Mistaken Identity

A/N: Well, here goes. My little attempt at drama…

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Mistaken Identity

10

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"Echizen, what are you doing?" asked Fuji. Ryoma ignored him and continued walking.

"Echizen, stop," said Tezuka. Ryoma ignored him too.

"Nani Echizen, what the hell's the mater with you?" Momoshiro looked nervous. It was bad enough to ignore Fuji. Ignoring Tezuka was unthinkable.

"Nya, ochibi. Please stop before you make things worse," pleaded Kikumaru. Ryoma ignored them both.

"You guys don't think this has anything to do with the _book_ yesterday do you?" whispered Kikumaru.

"You mean Sakuno's the girl he's trying to get?"

"That would explain why Ryoma is always miserable when he sees them together."

"Oh, you noticed too?"

"I think we all did."

"Inui, what's the chance of Sakuno being the one he's after?"

"The likelihood of it being Sakuno is ninety-eight percent."

"Who makes up the other two percent?"

"Tomoka and a miscellaneous category."

"There's no way he bought that book for Tomoka."

"Ninety-nine percent chance then."

"Everyone shut up and pay attention."

The regulars stood silently and watched as Ryoma stopped in front of a taken-aback Atori.

"What did you say?" The tightness in Ryoma's voice could be heard by everyone in the silence. It sent shivers down some of the members' spines. Unfortunately, Atori was not as skilled in picking up murderous vibes.

"I said, I doubt you're tennis prodigy seeing as you run so slow."

Ryoma clenched his fists. The team members sensed that Atori's life was on the borderline of life and death.

"Say that again." This time everyone was spooked by Ryoma's deathly calm whisper. Everyone but Atori.

"What, are you both slow _and_ deaf? Let's face it, a six year old could run faster than you."

A thin trickle of blood ran down Ryoma's tightly clenched fists. The regulars tensed. They'd never seen Ryoma lose his cool like this before. If they didn't do something now, Atori might not wake up tomorrow morning. Simultaneously, they rushed forward and jerked Ryoma away from Atori.

"No, let me hit him. Just once. No, let me go. I only need one shot. Please. Just give me _one_ shot at him," pleaded Ryoma as he struggled against his fellow team members. And for a freshman up against eight people older and stronger than he was, he put up a damn good fight.

"**_NANI RYOMA-KUN, WHY ARE YOU SO CRUEL TO MY COUSIN?!_**"

Ryoma stopped struggling and the team members dropped him in astonishment. _Cousin?! Atori was Sakuno's COUSIN?!_

"That's it. I'm going to the doctor's first thing tomorrow to have my hearing checked." Kikumaru informed the rest of the team.

"I don't think you'll need to Eiji. We all heard it." Fuji had another one of his smiles on his face.

Ryoma stared at Sakuno, flabbergasted.

"Atori's your c…c…cousin?" he stammered.

"Yes. He is. I know he can be a bit…competitive sometimes but that didn't give you any right to hurt him."

"But he's _blonde_."

"Well I can't control what he does with his hair!"

"I don't believe it."

"Have it your way." Ryoma watched helplessly as Sakuno turned walked off, Atori not far behind her.

A/N: I was planning to throttle Atori in some way, I'd even written a nice little bit for it. But some of you seem to like Atori so I decided not to ruin his face. XD By the way, this is going to be the second-last chapter. Yes, it's devastating. The world will probably whiz out of orbit because of it. Alas, such is the world we live in. Oh woe is me! Okay, I _really_ need to seek a therapist. Sorry, am I scaring you?


	11. To Be or Not To Be

A/N: The final chapter…By the way, I'm sorry if I disappointed some of you by making Atori Sakuno's cousin but if I didn't then this story would be like 20 chapters long. Then it would have tampered with my studies and my parents might have banned me from anymore story writing! Wah!!!

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To Be or Not To Be

11

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"Nani Echizen, you two haven't even paired up and you're already arguing."

"Shut up Momoshiro." Ryoma sank to the ground. _Great. Just great. Now what do I do?_

"Echizen." Ryoma looked up to find a towering Tezuka looking down on him. And the expression on his face wasn't a good one. "As punishment for breaking the code of conduct, you are to run thirty laps."

Ryoma gaped.

"Thirty?! You _can't_ be serious!"

"Is it not enough Echizen?"

"No no no. It's perfectly fine," said Ryoma quickly. Grumbling, he set off.

"Ah, young love. Can't ever forget it," said Momoshiro wistfully.

"Forget what? You never had anything to forget it the first place," teased Kikumaru.

"Why you little…"

"Are you two done yet or do I have to make you run laps too?"

Both Momoshiro and Kikumaru noticeably paled.

"Nya, Tezuka buchou. We're done, we're done." Kikumaru hurriedly assured the scary-looking captain. "Oh look, ochibi's almost done!"

After Ryoma finished the last lap he collapsed on the freshly-cut lawn. His moment of bliss, however, was cut short by Tezuka's looming shadow.

"What do you want now? I'm done aren't I?"

"Not quite Echizen. You may be excused after you pack up the equipment in every single court. I shall inform the other players not to pack away their equipment and let you do it for them."

_Dammit_ thought Ryoma as Tezuka turned and left. _All this work and I didn't even get _one_ shot at Atori!_

"What are you doing Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma turned his attention away from the ball he was picking up to find Tomoka watching him.

"Thanks to your friend, I have to clean up _every_ _single_ court in this school."

Tomoka bristled.

"Well thanks to _you_, Sakuno-chan's been crying in the bathroom all day."

Ryoma stared at Tomoka.

"I'm sor-"

"It's not me you have to apologise to," interrupted Tomoka.

"Right. Which bathroom's she in?"

For the second time that day, he disobeyed a direct order from Tezuka.

Ryoma stopped in front of the bathroom. He could hear sniffling inside.

Ryoma's heart skipped a beat. It skipped another when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. It skipped a third when he realised that the 'someone' was Atori.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh…nothing. I was just going to my locker."

Atori raised an eyebrow.

"And does going to your locker always involve stopping in front of the girls' bathroom?"

_Shit._ Failing to defend himself, Ryoma decided to go on the offensive.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"_I'm_ trying to persuade my cousin you're not worth crying over."

This statement left Ryoma in quite a dilemma. If he denied it it meant that he wanted Sakuno to cry, which he didn't. But he just couldn't let that insult go by. He was, however, saved from replying (rather ironically) by Sakuno.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Uh…nothing," they both answered. A little too quickly.

"What are you two up to?" she asked suspiciously.

"Uh…"

"Sakuno, I'm sorry about what happened today at practice," said Ryoma.

Sakuno blushed. "Oh. Don't worry about it. It wasn't that big a deal."

Atori snorted.

"Oh shut up Atori!" they both snapped.

Ryoma and Sakuno stared at each, and felt themselves smile. Atori looked at them both incredulously. _Man, these two are so annoying! _

"ARGH! I can't take this anymore! Okay, I'll leave Ryoma and you alone if he beats me in a game of tennis."

Sakuno gaped at Atori, which prevented her from noticing Ryoma do the same thing.

"Do you really mean it?" Both Ryoma and Sakuno asked.

"Nani, you don't trust me?"

"No." they both muttered under their breath as they headed towards the courts.

THWACK!

"Game won by Echizen!"

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma left the court, leaving a flustered opponent behind.

"Yeah! I knew you could do it Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno smiled and rushed over to congratulate him. This time she didn't speak too fast. Or run too slow. And Ryoma realised her hair was fine the way it was.

A/N: I'm done! Whew! Can't believe I managed all this in under a month! Please tell me what you thought of the story!


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